In the past few months, I had conversations about centuries with two different people, both who are somewhat serious bikers. When I told one that I was planning to do my second century, she asked "which one", I responded "I haven't come up with the route yet", thinking in my head "the one that takes me 100 miles, duh". The other one was asking me about a century I had done last year, and when I told her I had done it on my own she said "oh so it wasn't a century, you just rode 100 miles".

WTF?

It seemed to me unfortunate that they thought that a century necesarily was either a fixed route someone else came up with, or an organized ride with a group on a fixed route.

Get creative! Find a friend if you want, pore over some maps, come up with a route on your own. You might not end up with a water bottle or a T-shirt with sponsors on it, but there is a feeling of satisfaction knowing you can figure out how to do 100 miles in a day.

Anyway, those were my thoughts. Tear them apart if you want.

I now differentiate between centuries & organized rides of 100 miles. Kind of keeps the confusion down.

We're looking at doing more of our own century rides w/o support, as we have so much great riding within a couple hours' drive of home. I know most of them are charity events but I'm tiring of the cotton T-shirts & water bottles. They multiply like rabbits & I'm running out of room for them.

You make a good point. Maybe there's a definition out there other than what we think.

No tearing-apart here, I agree with you - I would've asked "organized ride or solo effort?" And knowing my luck, some nay-sayer would say "had friends with me, was NOT solo." yeah yeah.

We must remind ourselves that there's a million riders who would never ride alone, if the club isn't there they stay home. There's also a million riders who do fast 30's but their only centuries are the big organized rides. It sounds like you've met one of the latter. It gets even more complex when you include UMCA rules, where a 95-miler can be included in the year-rounder challenge but some pundit has to say "that's not a century." And then there's the rando riders, if it's not 200k or more it's "ONLY a century."

Terminology is a beech. And you can't please everyone, so you gotta please yourself.

A word of caution / sanity check: Route discovery CAN be a bear. Last weekend I tried a new route & discovered that the road narrows at the county line, plus that route is immensely popular with cars on holiday weekends. Some of our distances are just too far to walk, and hitchhiking near the Mexican border is bad for my health

"oh so it wasn't a century, you just rode 100 miles"

Nonsense. A hundred miles is a century, whether you did it with a zillion other people at Solvang or rode around the block 100 times by yourself. Like Wiswell said, it seems to me that it's tougher to do your own thing by yourself than to spend the whole day sitting in a pack on a marked course with organized meal stops every 25 miles and somebody in a van to fix your flats.

The term your "serious bikers" are missing, IMO, is "organized" centuries. A century is 100 miles. An organized century is the one where you get the t-shirt.

HTH!

And then there's the rando riders, if it's not 200k or more it's "ONLY a century."

actually, if it's not 200k or more it's "training" ;)

but that's 'cos randonneurs are crazy. I remember when I started last year, I mentioned off-hand to a friend at a party that I had to leave early because I was going to do a century tomorrow and they were all, "oh, really? which one? Tour De Cure? MS?"

"No, it's just a training ride."

"... wait ... what?"

but yeah, all the more power to folks who DIY their 100 miles. The other label that I apply to it is 'a fast tour', which adds a nice reminder that there's more to a century than just getting the milestones. You can see a lot of beautiful places in a 100 miles.

actually, if it's not 200k or more it's "training" ;)

but that's 'cos randonneurs are crazy. I remember when I started last year, I mentioned off-hand to a friend at a party that I had to leave early because I was going to do a century tomorrow and they were all, "oh, really? which one? Tour De Cure? MS?"

"No, it's just a training ride."

"... wait ... what?"

but yeah, all the more power to folks who DIY their 100 miles. The other label that I apply to it is 'a fast tour', which adds a nice reminder that there's more to a century than just getting the milestones. You can see a lot of beautiful places in a 100 miles.

Yup, a century or a 200k is just a long training ride. If I don't see the sun both come up and go down during the ride it is not a long one. ;)

Seriously though (I was being serious), doing 100 miles is a century, with extra credit for doing it solo and planning your own route. Tomorrow I am doing my 55 mile training route, and I am trying to figure out how to add another 45 miles. :D

We're looking at doing more of our own century rides w/o support, as we have so much great riding within a couple hours' drive of home.

A couple of hours drive? One of my favorite rides, the Knoxville Double Century, starts in Pena Adobe Park on the west side of Vacaville. I was just in Davis to do their double, and there is great riding all over the place.

Me, I got the ocean to the west, Mexico to the south, mountains to the east, and suburbia to the north. Bah.

I ran into a fellow workder on the road the other day, we rode together for awhile and he asked me what I was doing out here (about 25miles away from my home).

It is about a 46 mile loop that I do daily. He asked me what I was training for. Since I don't do races, centuries, organized rides, or anything like that since I much prefer solo riding, I didn't know what to answer. I finally answered the Tour de France.:)

I ran into a fellow workder on the road the other day, we rode together for awhile and he asked me what I was doing out here (about 25miles away from my home).

It is about a 46 mile loop that I do daily. He asked me what I was training for. Since I don't do races, centuries, organized rides, or anything like that since I much prefer solo riding, I didn't know what to answer. I finally answered the Tour de France.:)

Tell him that your "training" for life by living it.

100 miles is 100 miles
i'm doing the UMCA year rounder... but all my rides will be 100 miles minimum. its the principal of the thing.

i've started riding with some club folks on the weekends (typically the 'touring' crowd) - and when i speak of brevet mileage their eyes glaze over... i also get the 'which one?' question a bit - as if the only way to ride is on an organized ride. compared to a brevet though, the organized century i did last year was pretty posh - food and drink every 15 miles or so, a bagpiper on the toughest climb of the day, food and masseuse at the end...





one problem that i've had to deal with is feeling anything shorter than a century is a 'real' ride.
seems if i only go out for a few hours (or less) i get all depressed that i didn't really 'ride' and stress my body.

working with a local coach he's quickly tempered that.
some days i ride easy (nothing above 75% of my MRH) for 2 hours. im out smelling the flowers and taking photos...

other days i do some intervals and max out to where i want to puke.
neither is a century - but after 4 weeks, i see their place in the grand scheme of things.

The other one was asking me about a century I had done last year, and when I told her I had done it on my own she said "oh so it wasn't a century, you just rode 100 miles".


This anecdote sounds like a dumb blonde joke :eek: ....

I agree with BMike ... 100 miles is 100 miles. However, I have done some centuries where the actual length is < 100 miles. My take is, as long as the organization considers it a century, even though < 100 miles, it is a century.

This anecdote sounds like a dumb blonde joke :eek: .... I thought the same myself.

WTF? A century is a 100+ mile ride, no? Simple as that, right? I'm looking to do a t least one solo 100 mile ride this season and plan to call it century. Heck yes.

WTF? A century is a 100+ mile ride, no? Simple as that, right? I'm looking to do a t least one solo 100 mile ride this season and plan to call it century. Heck yes.

Only one???

All but 3 of the 9 centuries (or longer rides) I've ridden this year have been solo.

And then there's the rando riders, if it's not 200k or more it's "ONLY a century.

For randonneurs, centuries are either warmup rides or recovery rides.

You know you're a randonneur when you catch yourself saying, "Only 100 more miles to go."

In the past few months, I had conversations about centuries with two different people, both who are somewhat serious bikers. When I told one that I was planning to do my second century, she asked "which one", I responded "I haven't come up with the route yet", thinking in my head "the one that takes me 100 miles, duh". The other one was asking me about a century I had done last year, and when I told her I had done it on my own she said "oh so it wasn't a century, you just rode 100 miles".

WTF?



Probably comes from the concept that running 26 miles solo is not the same as running a marathon.

Seriously though (I was being serious), doing 100 miles is a century, with extra credit for doing it solo and planning your own route. Tomorrow I am doing my 55 mile training route, and I am trying to figure out how to add another 45 miles. :D[/QUOTE]

I did my first century ride this past Memorial Day. It was great. But instead of mapping out a long course or loop I just took the route I use as a training ride. It's an out and back of 25 miles. I did it four times. Though it could really be boring as far as repetitive scenery, I knew where all the stinking road kill was, where the dogs lived, how to prepare for the tough hills and nothing really happened unexpectedly. I could leave my house and my mileage was 25 miles exactly each time I came back home where I could rest for 20-30 minutes. I just needed to get the first 100 miler under my belt so I could decide it I would want to do any more later. I'm hook! The only suprise during the 7 hour & 45 minute road time was how easily I did it. Yeah I was fatigued at the end but still I thought that I would be a dead man walking at the end. My next ones will probably be some kind of loop routes and I'd like to do one every other month or as time allows but I also hope to stretch the next one to a 200K ride.

Well I have done over 30 100+ mile rides this year. Only one of them has been organized, does that mean I have only done 1 century? Let's get real, 100 miles is a 100 miles plain and simple.

From the UMCA:

Rules Summary:
For routing reasons some centuries are just under 100 miles. In the Year-Rounder a century is a ride of 90 - 149 miles.

An "Organized" century is a ride with: a name, designated start/finish location and starting time(s), route plan, organizer, and advance publication of the ride or ride series in club newsletters, etc.

A "Personal" century is a personally designed ride. For credit, you must complete at least 90 miles in a 12-hour period including off the bike time (and maintain an 8.33 mph average after that). Personal centuries provide century-length riding opportunities for riders in seasons or locales where Organized centuries are sparse.

Any Y-R ride counts toward the Larry Schwartz award - brevets, double centuries and ultra events.

We like to keep the holidays free for time with the family, so the Year Rounder ends on December 21, 200X.

Riders in any country may participate.

You know you're a randonneur when you catch yourself saying, "Only 100 more miles to go today."

Fixed it for you. ;)

A solo, unsupported century is tougher than a supported one where you can draft. (Not even to mention all the work putting the route together, etc)

A solo, unsupported century is tougher than a supported one where you can draft. (Not even to mention all the work putting the route together, etc)

+1!!

My fastest, and easiest centuries have been fully supported, organized ones that draw 150-200 people.

Yeah....I agree, 100 miles is 100 miles. The only physical variation on the centuries I've ridden was elevation gain......ones with less than 2,000 feet and others with over 10,000 ft of climbing, but that shouldn't matter.

Yeah....I agree, 100 miles is 100 miles. The only physical variation on the centuries I've ridden was elevation gain......ones with less than 2,000 feet and others with over 10,000 ft of climbing, but that shouldn't matter.

Yeah, because the one with less than 2000 ft might have gale force winds to deal with, as are common in flat areas. And all too often, if you've got a headwind going out, when you turn, so does the wind, and you've got a headwind going back.

In Manitoba, we called those gale force winds: "Manitoba Mountains". :D

If I do a century it will be by myself riding my own route. Time is a factor for me so who knows how far I can push the distance riding in terms of training for it.

Hi all... I am pretty new around the boards as well as to road biking. I have been riding for about a year and just rode my first solo century this weekend. Prior to my ride this weekend, my longest ride was my 62mile Saturday route. But after reading so many great stories on here I thought I would just go for the 100 miler. It was kind of tough, (making the route, managing food and water on the ride, etc..)especially the last 15-20 miles. It was well worth the challenge. At the end of the day my trip meter read 100.15 miles / total time was 7 hrs. 10 min. and whether it was organized or not...I had fun and it felt great!

I think that there is plenty of room for confusion. I don't consider "100-mile days" century rides.

A CENTURY RIDE is a single continuous bicycle ride performed without a significant break in activity. (meaning no stops, much longer than an hour)

Simply riding a combination or rides across some 24 hour period is not a Century. Although it is a century worth of miles.

I think that there is plenty of room for confusion. I don't consider "100-mile days" century rides.

A CENTURY RIDE is a single continuous bicycle ride performed without a significant break in activity. (meaning no stops, much longer than an hour)

Simply riding a combination or rides across some 24 hour period is not a Century. Although it is a century worth of miles.
Well I guess you don't count organized centuries then, because those have stops. That's really hardcore.

Dick Head put a comma where it doesn't belong. I think he was trying to say "no stops of more than an hour or so".

I'm just a moron commuter, but I've got a new bike on the way and have a self-guided century ride in mind for July. I think I'll print my own t-shirt for it: the front will say "Spreggy Invitational Century Ride", and on the back it will say "It's all about Me". :p

If someone does a 100 miles in a day, I would still consider it a century (even if you do 50 miles, rest for 4 hours, then do another 50 miles). I commend anyone who has the patience and endurance to ride 100 miles. Not everyone can do this.

If someone does a 100 miles in a day, I would still consider it a century (even if you do 50 miles, rest for 4 hours, then do another 50 miles).Right, I sort of agree. My point was that the whole point of ever using the term "Century" was that it was intended to convey a single 100 mile bicycle ride. Not a collection of rides to less distant places.

But hey, goobers do as goobers do, it all good, it's all as real as reality TV......

Right, I sort of agree. My point was that the whole point of ever using the term "Century" was that it was intended to convey a single 100 mile bicycle ride. Not a collection of rides to less distant places. Last Friday, I rode 14 miles to work, 30 miles to a custom builder to follow up on a couple things with my bike, 30 miles to downtown Boston to catch a contemporary dance performance, 10 miles to get groceries and 6 miles to home. If I added another 10 miles to that for some other chore, I would not have called my ride a century. More like "extreme errand running" -- emphasis on "EXXXTREEEEME"

But if someone else wanted to call it a century, I wouldn't argue with them.

Can we all agree that a Century must be done in miles?
I always thought is was pretty weak when people say
metric century in the US. Nothing is measured in km here
and that ride is many miles short! Those folks should do
160.9k before they can say 'century'.

Can we all agree that a Century must be done in miles?
I always thought is was pretty weak when people say
metric century in the US. Nothing is measured in km here
and that ride is many miles short! Those folks should do
160.9k before they can say 'century'.

there are Canadians and Aussies who read this forum who would object to your definition of 'here', but as in all things where Americans prove to be incompatible with the rest of the world, it's always wise to include measurement standards when posting on global forums.

there are Canadians and Aussies who read this forum who would object to your definition of 'here', but as in all things where Americans prove to be incompatible with the rest of the world, it's always wise to include measurement standards when posting on global forums.

Read closer- is did specify "In the US".

Most folks around these parts would understand a century to be 100 miles or more of riding during a relatively continuous period -- i.e., you can report you rode 100 miles, but you would count the time for the ride as the total elapsed time from when you started until you finished. At some point, that elapsed time would become too great and most folks on hearing of the ride would be thinking, that's not really one, one-hundred-mile bike ride. But when that happens is totally subjective. The UMCA has rules on these things and likely local clubs who track their members' rides do, too, but most of the rest of the world doesn't care too much. Heck, just ride.

Read closer- is did specify "In the US".
Indeed, sorry. I stopped reading after taking umbrage at your insistence that it always had to be miles. I've got no problems with people proudly declaiming their metric century achievements so long as they remember to mention the measurement standard.

Last Friday, I rode 14 miles to work, 30 miles to a custom builder to follow up on a couple things with my bike, 30 miles to downtown Boston to catch a contemporary dance performance, 10 miles to get groceries and 6 miles to home. If I added another 10 miles to that for some other chore, I would not have called my ride a century. More like "extreme errand running" -- emphasis on "EXXXTREEEEME"

But if someone else wanted to call it a century, I wouldn't argue with them.

its only EXXXTEEEEME if you do it while drinking Mountain Dew, in baggy pants, while skydiving.

Can we all agree that a Century must be done in miles?
I always thought is was pretty weak when people say
metric century in the US. Nothing is measured in km here
and that ride is many miles short! Those folks should do
160.9k before they can say 'century'.


Brevet distances in the US are published in kilometers just like brevets anywhere else in the world.

Why would it be weak to say metric century?

You'd prefer they just say century, even though it was "only" a metric one?

I've never quite understood the "metric century". It just doesn't seem like enough of an accomplishment to deserve its own title. Thousands of cyclists accomplish "metric centuries" every week as they complete their club's Sunday social ride.

I've never quite understood the "metric century". It just doesn't seem like enough of an accomplishment to deserve its own title. Thousands of cyclists accomplish "metric centuries" every week as they complete their club's Sunday social ride.

We tend to lose perspective here. 62 miles is an epic ride many people, especially if there is significant climbing. My first organized ride years ago was a metric century - and it was a big deal to me at time.

Well heck, I know folks who "trained" to participate in the bicycling portion of a 10k run/walk, and they wore the T-shirt proudly. So while I understand your point about context, I'm not completely buying it. :)

We tend to lose perspective here. 62 miles is an epic ride many people, especially if there is significant climbing. My first organized ride years ago was a metric century - and it was a big deal to me at time.


Perspective - last I checked this was the long distance forum.
True, the 67 mile ride I did Sunday with lots of climbing and 50% of it into a headwind wiped me out and was sort of epic in its own way ... but it wasn't a century. And I'd never tell another cyclist I 'did a metric'.

I'll agree that distance is relative. To a couch potato setting down the remote and walking to the fridge and getting another cold one can be a 'long' walk... but I think most folks here in LD would agree that 100 miles is sort of the base line for long distance riding. Training rides are most likely shorter and intense - but most events - either solo, chaperoned, or charity - start into the LD category at 100 miles, and for Randonneurs that number jumps to 125.

We tend to lose perspective here. 62 miles is an epic ride many people, especially if there is significant climbing. My first organized ride years ago was a metric century - and it was a big deal to me at time.

I keep this in mind when talking to people who are extremely excited and proud to have ridden a metric or a full century. There is no sense in me saying that this is just a training ride for what I do. Instead I will tell them that what they have done is really great, and that 62 or 100 miles is a really good day on the bike - because it really is.

After my first century I was still in disbelief that I had ridden 100 miles. I had no clue about double centuries or brevets. Once I got done the ride I thought "that was great, and I will never do it again."

hahahahahahahahahaha

Devil's Advocate comment here ... what constitutes Long Distance? 100 miles? 200 miles? Brevet? RAAM?

I think there was a pretty involved discussion about that on one of the stickies.

Seems to me that in general, "long distance" starts around the 100 mile mark and that "ultra distance" somewhere around the 200 mile mark -- regardless of whether an individual cyclists considers those distances impossible or child's play.

We tend to lose perspective here. 62 miles is an epic ride many people, especially if there is significant climbing. My first organized ride years ago was a metric century - and it was a big deal to me at time.
I've done a few solo centuries and plan to do many more, but the hardest ride I can remember was yesterday, which was only 65 miles. Climbing 3000 feet in 14 miles (most of it in the last 6 or 7) may have had something to do with it. And the headwind in the Columbia River Gorge is no laughing matter.

But as another poster said, it wasn't a century. I'm just saying that I've done "real" centuries that were a lot easier.

I keep this in mind when talking to people who are extremely excited and proud to have ridden a metric or a full century. There is no sense in me saying that this is just a training ride for what I do. Instead I will tell them that what they have done is really great, and that 62 or 100 miles is a really good day on the bike - because it really is. I remember, nine years ago, when I got my first hybrid bike and rode it out to a friend's cookout in the suburbs. The entire ride was, maybe, 12 miles, but it felt epic because up to that point, everything that I had done was 5 miles to work or 3 miles to a grocery or 4 miles to a nightclub. And, of course, it was a ride to the far and distant suburbs, places where the subway didn't go. Most of my friends, who were also pretty much just urban cyclists, were impressed when I showed up sweaty and tired but arriving on my own power, and they thought that it sounded like quite the adventure.

Now, I ride that distance to get to the start of a brevet, but when talking to other friends who are all proud of themselves for riding the 14 miles from Boston to Walden Pond, I can still remember what it was like to go beyond the borders of your own comfort, and I congratulate them all the same.

But, I don't think that they'll need the tips on nutrition, hydration, all-night riding or logistics that tends to dominate this particular board -- and I think that this discussion is arriving at cross purposes. There are folks who discuss whether metric centuries or < 100 mile rides are 'worthy' accomplishments and there are others who discuss whether metrics or < 100 mile rides are 'worthy' for this forum; when, really, those are two different things.

Part of the reason for the creation of LDC on BikeForums was because endurance cyclists go on the internet to seek information that's different from what's bandied about in Touring or Road Cycling. We get into discussions about powerful but cheap lighting rigs and eating strategies that are fairly unique, and as impressive as a 30 mile ride might be to someone who's never done more than 5 miles in their life, they don't really need to know about the best way to carry a day's supply of Perpetuem.

And, I think that, again, it goes back to the confusion of the name. I still think that Endurance Cycling would be a more precise description because the point of discussion isn't just about 'travelling x number of miles', but how one can travel x miles under certain parameters -- whether its a brevet time window or a 24hr race or a bid not to get swept by the SAG wagon on an organized century.